


The Lyre of Orpheus

by TheBlackLagoon



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Fix It Fic, M/M, The Burning Maze (Trials of Apollo) Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-14 05:36:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18046499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBlackLagoon/pseuds/TheBlackLagoon
Summary: After learning about the death of Jason Grace, Nico decides his friend is owed a little more than the hand he’s been dealt. Along with Nico's boyfriend, Will Solace, Riley O’Neil (the trigger happy daughter of Ares), and the hellhound Mrs.O’leary, the four head out to bring the Son of Jupiter back to life.





	The Lyre of Orpheus

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really excited to start this project and share it with you guys because it means a lot to me. Big thanks to my Beta reader Icequeen05, I haven't written much yet for her to work with, but nonetheless I super appreciate the work she has contributed to this :)  
> Hope you enjoy!

Nico Di Angelo had faced a lot of crazy, and most of the time, horrifying things in his life as a half blood. He’d lived, for basically a whole year, inside a sentient maze, had befriended an evil ghost, lugged an enormous Athenian statue from Europe to New York, and had given his father’s enormous three-headed dog a bath once. That was the  _ last  _ time he agreed to a chore chart set by his dad. But even after all that, it was movie night that had Nico halfway out the second story window of the Big House.

It wasn’t his proudest moment, but he had good enough reasoning for it- just as long as he didn’t get-

“Nice to see modern cinema has left such a great impact on you.”

Nico, with as much dignity as he could possibly muster, lifted the leg he’d had out the window back inside and turned to look at his boyfriend. Will was leaning against the door, a lopsided grin on his face that definitely did not make skeletal butterflies erupt in Nico’s stomach. 

“The door was stuck,” Nico tried, leaning against the sill as casually as possible. Will just gave him a flat look, then sighed and took a few steps forward into the room.

“I was worried, you said you were going to the bathroom twenty minutes ago.”

“Nico, if you hate movie night so much you could have just told me. This,” Will gestured vaguely towards the window, “seems kind of like overkill.” 

Nico didn’t hate movie night. He really didn’t. But it was what movie night had turned into, that had him climbing out of windows. It had gone from being just his and Will’s thing, binge watching classic movies that Will deemed necessary to Nico’s pop culture education, to an all-inclusive camp get together. And while Nico was trying to be more open about things like that, it still felt like a chore. Especially since no one but Will seemed to appreciate his in movie commentary. 

But he couldn’t say any of that. Not to Will at least.

“I uh- thought I could sneak out and get non-healthy snacks this time around, you know Twizzlers instead of celery sticks,” Nico said with a half smile. Will just kept giving him a  _ Look _ with a capital L, until Nico couldn’t stand it anymore, shuffling past him to the door. But he knew he couldn’t leave it at that, and have Will overly concerned with his emotional state all night. He had to do  _ something _ . 

“Lets just, go back to the movie, I was really starting to enjoy- Captain Kirk and stuff,” Nico said off the top of his head as he walked backwards through the door. Will made a face of disgust, and the worry that had been there a moment ago was gone. If there was one thing Nico knew, you never got movie trivia wrong in front of Will. Which Nico did a lot. 

“I know that was intentionally wrong but please tell me you were at least paying enough attention to know we aren't watching Star Trek,” Will said, moving to follow him back into the second floor hallway.

“Yes?” 

Will shoved his shoulder playfully, then went on in detail to explain that while both Captain Kirk and Han Solo were dashing, space heroes, they were not in fact, the same person. Nico understood about half of it by the time they reached the Big House’s rec room. 

Ever since these movie nights had become commonplace among the campers, the rec room had needed some obvious upgrades. With the help of the Hephaestus and Hecate campers, the room had been magically remodeled to be the perfect teen hang out. There was a self-refilling snack bar (unfortunately only providing nutritional, high fiber alternatives). A projector system that was set up to allow any movie on file to be played. And about ten bean bags and the same amount lounge chairs were spread across the floor, along with a limousine length couch. 

At the moment, as far as Nico could see they were all full of other kids. 

“Will!” A whispered shout from the other side of the room alerted both Nico and Will to Kayla, who was motioning to the minuscule amount of space in her loveseat she’d saved. 

As something loud and obnoxious happened on screen Nico began to pick his way through the sea of lounging half bloods, each of whom was giving him dirty looks as they tried to see past him to the screen. What was so important that they couldn’t wait a second for him to go past was beyond him, but Will seemed much more apologetic as he followed behind.

“You guys just missed Lando Calrissian’s first appearance, and a bit of training with Yoda,” Kayla stage whispered, behind her hand, and in response, a couple of people shushed her. She just stuck her tongue out and scooted over more in her seat to allow the two of them to sit. 

Nico took the other arm of the seat, which while uncomfortable was far better than being crushed between two people. Will, of course, squeezed in between him and Kayla and sat back with a sigh. He grabbed Nico’s hand, squeezed it, and turned back to the movie. Which basically meant, ‘ _ You’re not leaving again until it’s done.’ _

Nico tried his best to pay attention, the movie was interesting, though he much preferred the B-Horror movies Will had introduced him to a couple of months ago. Despite his best efforts, he was slipping from his seat on the couch, and Kayla wouldn’t stop crunching on her carrot sticks, and by the time the man in the black mask said he was the blond guy’s dad, he was far too irritated to really appreciate the reveal. It was times like these where Nico regretted promising Will he wouldn’t take unnecessary shadow travel trips. 

He knew of course that his boyfriend had good intentions. Nico had nearly gone off the deep end last summer, and he would always be grateful for Will’s help during that time. But Nico hadn’t left camp in a long time. With the whole Apollo business still going on, and the lack of proper communication via Iris messaging, there was no way Will or Chiron thought it was safe enough for travel. Even by Half blood standards. Of course, he was happier then he’d been in a very long time, but Nico was also bored. Watching movies about laser swords and space knights really wasn’t really cutting it.

However, it was just as Nick Grazara, a Hypnos camper, stood and suggested watching Return of the Jedi, than an explosion sounded from outside. The noise shocked the group into defensive positions and had Nico’s heart pounding in excitement. He immediately moved to collect his sword from the hallway, because they’d all collectively agreed to leave their weapons there in the hopes of creating a more relaxed atmosphere in the rec room. 

Will and about twenty other half-bloods, were right behind him as he raced out of the Big House to take care of whatever was wreaking havoc in camp this time. They followed the sound of several lesser explosions all the way to the circle of cabins, where now ablaze, stood the Ares cabin. 

“Is it another dragon?” came a whiny yell from the back of the group, followed by more groans in reply. Nico really hoped it was not another dragon. 

He didn’t have to hope long though, as the group watched a small figure come stumbling from the burning cabin, coughing up a storm. Nico didn’t recognize whoever it was, but she looked about ten, on the small side, and thankfully not seriously burned. She was obviously recognized by someone though, as one hulking Ares camper, Nico did recognize as Aaron Wiley, came rushing forward from the crowd. 

“You little twerp!” Aaron yelled, storming up to the little girl, his face blotchy and red. Nico was not one to scare easy, but even he could see how a reaction like that would frighten any young kid. But the little girl seemed to be holding her ground, as Aaron screamed something about  _ cherry bombs _ and  _ not toys _ . 

Seeing as the threat, wasn’t actually a threat, but more likely a prank gone wrong, Kayla quickly rallied several campers to wrangle the hose from the Big House to douse the flames. Nico followed Will, who had noticed the burns on the girl’s arms.

“Lay off her Aaron, if you hadn’t noticed she’s hurt. I think she learned her lesson,”  Will stepped in between the two, shooting a dark look to the larger boy, and then carefully moved to inspect the damage on the little girls’ arms. Aaron, who seemed to realize he couldn’t really argue with the camps head medic without looking like a total jerk, backed off with an angry huff. Nico made sure to watch him until he followed the rest of the campers to get water. 

Closer up to the girl, Nico noticed the burns were a lot worse then he’d initially thought. She’d had to have been pretty close to whatever explosion she’d caused. Which meant it had probably been an accident. Nico sent another glare in Aaron’s direction, just because he could, as he walked up behind Will, who was crouched and talking to the younger girl. 

“Why don’t we head to my cabin for supplies,” Will said calmly, as a beam in the Ares cabin roof toppled down in front of them. Nico seconded that, as he felt the heat from the flames intensify, and the three made a hasty retreat to the relative safety of the Apollo cabin. 

Once inside, Will had the little girl take a seat on his bunk and then left Nico to find bandages and something to ease the pain. Nico shuffled uncomfortably and the little girl, who now that Nico was really looking at her, saw she was probably more like twelve, stared back at him silently. She had long black hair, that at the moment was charred on the right side, and it gave her a slightly uneven look. Nico was considering mentioning this to her when Will came back with his arms full. 

“Okay, I have bandages, Apollo’s 102% effective burn salve, and suckers, which do you want first?” 

“I’m not a baby, I don’t need a sucker.” The girl leaned back, a sour look on her face, which Nico thought was kinda uncalled for considering what Will was doing to help her. 

“I’ll have one,” Nico said, sending a glare in the younger kids direction, and snagged a blue raspberry flavored sucker from the pile. For Will’s credit, he just chuckled and placed the rest of his supplies on the bed beside her. Once he had everything in place, Will got to work quickly, carefully grabbing the girl’s arm and applying the salve. 

It had to be painful, Nico knew from first hand experience anyway, but she just glared at the floor, and only flinched the first few times Will placed the sticky goop on her wounds. 

“I haven't seen you around before, when did you make it to camp,” Will suddenly said, reaching for the gauze he’d grabbed once he finished applying a layer of the salve. 

The girl, and really Nico should ask her name at this point, shrugged her shoulders but answered quietly, “Last week.”

“Huh, it’s funny I haven't seen you then. I give some beginner lessons on archery, Chiron usually sends new campers my way.”

“Well, Aaron said it was customary for new campers to stay in their cabins on probation for at least a week before we can join camp activities,” she replied, scraping her black and pink tennis shoes on the floor, back and forth in a nervous and erratic way. Will paused and sent an alarmed look to Nico, who shook his head in annoyance. 

“Nice to see the Ares campers have stooped to hazing,” Nico muttered, as Will grimaced going back to tying off the last bandage. The girl looked down at her freshly wrapped arms, and stretched them both out, only a crease between her eyebrows showing her discomfort. Will bundled up the rest of the bandages, grabbed the bottle of salve, and headed back to wherever the Apollo campers kept their medical supplies, effectively leaving Nico alone again to deal with the little girl. 

She stood from the bed once Will was out of sight, shifting uncomfortably on her feet, and before Nico could think again he asked,

“What’s your name?” 

Startled and obviously not expecting him to talk to her directly, she let out a strained noise that sounded vaguely like ‘ _ Riley _ .’ Taking that as a slight victory, Nico held out his hand, thought better of it considering, and just said, 

“Nico.” 

And then they were silent again, until Will appeared, a small smile on his face as he looked between Nico and Riley. He walked back over to the two of them, saving Nico from a second more of whatever thing he’d just gotten himself into. 

“I’m Will, by the way. Uh- just a tip but maybe next time come to us if you have any questions about anything at camp.”

Riley nodded her head slowly, and then Will began talking about the proper ways to clean and re-do the badges if she didn’t want to come in every day and have him do it. Nico had heard Will go on long medical explanations before, so he felt safe enough to let his mind wander as he gazed out the window. Besides the still burning Ares cabin across the lawn, the night was peaceful, the moon hung low and large in the sky. It made Nico wonder how Thalia was doing. He hadn’t heard from her for a couple of months. 

His thoughts were cut off suddenly and violently when it hit him. A sensation so strong and so familiar, that Nico felt like crying and puking simultaneously. 

He took a step back from the bed and the other two demigods as that horrible,  _ horrible  _ feeling washed over him. It always started at the back of his neck, like a drip of cold water making its way down his spine. Then all at once, it felt as if his whole body were being plunged into icy waters. Except instead of ending up numb all over, he’d be stuck in an in-between, of freezing cool and burning hot, which seemed to last for an eternity. At least until Nico could put a name to whoever's life was being extinguished.  

This time as the name floated up to the surface of his flickering subconscious, Nico knew without a doubt, somewhere, somehow,  _ Jason Grace _ was dead.


End file.
